SHIELDS OF SHAME | GEORGIA FLOCK ABUSE DATABASE | CASE 006
Brandon Joel Sanders Flock Misuse: Off-Duty Searches and Hall County’s Surveillance Audit
Off duty, but still searching. Hall County Sheriff’s Office says former deputy Brandon Joel Sanders accessed the Flock Safety license-plate reader system repeatedly while off duty, conducting unauthorized searches of different license plates. Sanders resigned September 4, 2026, during the investigation.
Case summary
Agency: Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia. Employment: December 2021 to September 4, 2026, according to reporting and historical POST information. Reported finding: multiple unauthorized off-duty Flock searches. Outcome: resignation while under investigation. Criminal charge: none independently verified for Sanders in this review.
What Hall County investigators reported
Investigators found multiple searches of various license plates while Sanders was off duty, without authorization or an identified legitimate law-enforcement purpose. Hall County did not publicly disclose the exact query count, searched plates, vehicle owners or motive. Being off duty does not alone make a search unlawful; the central allegation is that these particular queries lacked authorization. The Flock audit trail, associated case numbers and supervisory review records would provide the most direct evidence.
Seven employee departures in a 758-search audit
Hall County reviewed 758 Flock searches and flagged 85 as anomalous or suspicious, approximately 11.2 percent of the searches examined. A flag is not a proven policy violation. The investigation led to three terminations and four resignations involving seven employees. Sanders was reported as the seventh departure. Hall County referred the seven cases to the GBI or Hall County Solicitor for possible criminal review, and reported plans to notify Georgia POST. Referral is not equivalent to a criminal charge.
The sheriff’s promised Flock reforms
FOX 5 reported Sheriff Gerald Couch’s announcement of tighter safeguards, including reducing system users from 124 to 24 trained personnel, requiring case numbers for searches and shortening ordinary data retention. These are reported plans; their implementation should be checked against the revised agency policy, access list and later audits.
Timeline
- December 2021: Sanders begins employment with Hall County, according to historical POST-related reporting.
- September 4, 2026: Sanders resigns amid an internal investigation of off-duty Flock searches.
- September 4, 2026: Hall County announces completion of its audit of 758 searches and seven employee cases.
- September 16, 2026: A historical POST profile described in earlier coverage reportedly still reflected active employment; updated POST records are needed to establish later status.
Georgia POST certification document
A POST profile is a dated administrative snapshot, not a determination that misconduct did or did not occur. Read the supplied document directly and seek an updated record for the current investigation or certification status.
Open Sanders POST certification PDF ↗
Original images and related reporting
Case image ↗ | Additional image ↗ | Thumbnail ↗
FOX 5: Hall County audit ↗ | Atlanta News First: Sanders resignation ↗ | Now Georgia: Audit findings ↗
The records that could answer the central questions
What license plates did Sanders search? How many queries did he make? What justification was entered for each? Who reviewed the activity and when? The next records requests should seek Flock audit logs, the completed Internal Affairs investigation, separation and POST notification records, revised access policies and the outcome of any criminal referral.
Frequently asked questions
How many unauthorized searches were attributed to Sanders?
Hall County reported multiple off-duty searches but did not disclose an exact count in its public announcement.
Was Sanders fired?
No. The sheriff’s office reported that he resigned during the investigation.
Was Sanders charged with a crime?
No criminal charge against Sanders has been independently verified. An agency referral for possible prosecution is not a conviction or proof of a criminal offense.
Updated October 12, 2026. Administrative findings and criminal allegations are distinguished throughout this report.